Matthew Walz

Yet another bad sign in ERCOT (TX) of potential reliability problems ahead. Yesterday evening 4/16 on a beautiful spring day, power prices jumped to over $4,000/MWh on an 80 degree spring day when solar went from a peak of 14,000 MW to 0 MW and wind went from 23,000 MW in the morning to 5,000 MW in the evening with ERCOT asking for conservation of power throughout the day. So what saved the day? Same as usual natural gas and coal generation went from a combined 16,000 MW in the morning to 43,000 MW to offset the collapse of solar and wind. Said another way, solar and wind went from 50% of the generation for much of the day to 10% in just a few hours while natural gas and coal went from 40% early in the day to over 80% to make up the difference. Many continue to advocate adding intermittent solar and wind generation can replace reliable and dispatchable natural gas and coal generation. The grid will get more unreliable and wild price swing will be unacceptable for most customers. We can much better than this for all U.S. citizens and its economy that relies on reliable power in all hours, not just when the wind blows and the sun shines.

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This article states grid operators are not effectively using inter-regional ties. At least from my experience in the northeast, the operators’ hands are generally tied by market rules. Transactions across inter-regional ties between the BAs/RCs are scheduled according to the bids submitted into the market. They are scheduled based on the LMPs in each of the respective systems relative to the submitted bids of the transactions. The operators in most cases are precluded from scheduling any energy across the inter-regional ties short of emergency assistance. Operators moving energy based on their view of economics and where power should be flowing results in them being crucified by the stakeholders for potentially manipulating the market and the prices. I’m not really sure where this conclusion came from but it does operators a disservice. #NREL #energyscheduling #operations

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The new #ERCOT mandate can become a pressing issue but we are here to help! Please reach out to explore how we can help!

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The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will finalize its regional transmission planning and cost allocation rule on 📅 May 13 📅 Check out this piece from Cody Lynch, director of renewable energy for Coalfield Development Corporation, on the importance of regional transmission lines to economic development in Appalachia. "Strategic transmission planning and investment is vital to supporting business development, reducing congestion on lines and connecting consumers to the cheapest and most reliable energy sources at any given time." ⤵ https://lnkd.in/encgTDcq

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Community engagement is critical for the success of any renewable project. This is not controversial, but I would argue, even with all the resources in place today; it remains an underappreciated aspect of the industry. More can be done; more local engagement, more local investment, but even more importantly, more follow-up reporting on the benefits of these community engagement efforts (many unique to specific local communities). There are many great stories out there: How many parks have renewable projects constructed? How many local fire trucks were purchased? How many classrooms were funded? How many small family farms were saved? There are many stories that need to be given voice as we continue adoption across the country. #Renewables #RenewableEnergy

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Steve Everley, great chart showing how natural gas generation has led the way to lower emissions in the U.S. much more so than intermittent solar and wind. Its amazing the EPA is trying to limit new natural gas generation as a part of its GHG Rule released last week and somehow limit existing natuarl gas generation in other dockets. Florida is a perfect example of natural gas' role in emissions reductions. Florida has seen a 35% reduction in emissions from 2005 to today almost entirely due to switching from coal and oil to natural gas generation which now produced 75% of Florida's generation, by far the highest percentage in the U.S. Better yet, electric prices grew far less than in other states being below the U.S. residential price average in 2024 despite having no natural resource advantage like hydro, natural gas, coal or oil advantages. We at Florida Municipal Power Agency are putting our future on natural gas generation to provide affordable and reliable power for all while continuing to reduce emissions for decades to come.

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Cleanleaf Energy Secures O&M Contracts for 350 MW Solar Projects in Georgia and Pennsylvania Cleanleaf Energy, previously known as Borrego O&M, has announced new agreements to provide operations and maintenance (O&M) services for utility-scale solar projects totaling 350 MW in Georgia and Pennsylvania. These projects, owned by Heelstone Renewable Energy, include four sites in Georgia and one in Pennsylvania. Heelstone Renewable Energy, established in 2012 with initial projects in North Carolina, expanded into California by 2016. In 2019, Heelstone received an investment from Ares Infrastructure and Power to support its utility-scale solar projects across the United States. In January 2024, Qualitas Energy acquired Heelstone, which had a portfolio of 20 GW of solar and […] Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/dft4yc6C #solarenergy #alternativeenergy #solarpv #pvsolar #photovoltaic #cleanenergy #cleantech #climatechange #middleeast #africa #india #asiapacific #asia #america #cleanleafenergy #northamerica #renewableenergy #solarprojects

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What a great program from GridLab. Taking the plunge into entrepreneurship can be daunting. Don’t let the fear win out. Support like this in the beginning is a great way to help with the transition. Kudos to GridLab

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Kudos to Duane Highley and the team at Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Inc. for seizing the benefits of the #InflationReductionAct to accelerate its transition to cleaner and lower cost #renewables. Power supply to its distribution coop members will hit 50% clean next year en route to a 89% reduction in #GHG emissions by 2030 ... with new resources additions focused on #windpower, #solarpower and #batterystorage with a small amount of #gas for peaker/reliability purposes. This is very much in line with the trajectory envisaged by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) #CleanPowerRules and shows that those rules do not force a "major" change in the industry, rather they run totally with the grain of what makes economic sense, and what is happening on the ground, while of course reducing harmful pollution at the same time. A win all around for coop members and the planet. #climatecrisis #stopburningstuff c Dave Munk Alex DeGolia Keith Klesner, PE Kristen Bertuglia NRECA Jim Matheson Kent Singer Colorado Rural Electric Assn. Mark Jacobson Leah Stokes Michael E. Webber Holly Metzler Sonja Macys Will Toor Chris Hansen Lisa Tiffin Amy Robertson Alana Miller Jeffrey McManus Kendra Foley

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Solar energy is experiencing a significant surge in Illinois, with the state’s installed capacity reaching 27 GW and an additional 65 GW projected to be operational within the next five years. This growth is supported by Illinois’ ambitious renewable portfolio standard, which mandates that 25% of its energy must be derived from renewable sources by 2025. The state’s commitment to solar power is evident in its generation of enough energy to power over 265,526 homes and the widespread adoption of solar installations across various sectors, including residential neighborhoods, community buildings, and cultural institutions like the Chicago Botanic Garden. Illinois’ solar expansion is not only a testament to its renewable energy potential but also sets a strong example for the rest of the Midwest. Read more:   https://lnkd.in/gpmKtDPk #solar #solarpower #sinovoltaics #innovativeinsider #QualityAssurance

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One of the top priorities for all utilities will need to be clearly and effectively communicating all the costs associated with the "energy transition." "Half of the average consumer bill has nothing to do with what fuel is used to generate electricity. It reflects the cost of transmission and distribution. And those costs are rising fast, according to consumer advocates. Utilities are spending heavily to ramp up their transmission infrastructure as electricity demand grows because of the advent of electric vehicles and data centers for artificial intelligence applications. Increasingly, those costs will be passed along to consumers." “I expect it to accelerate,” wrote David Springe, executive director of the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates, in an email to Barron’s. “A lot of spending has yet to hit the consumer bill.” Ten percent rate increases are beginning across the country during a period where natural gas prices are rock bottom and the cost of capital is rising like the sun. Hard to buy the argument that inflation will soon moderate and the Fed will cut rates soon. But if inflation does moderate somewhere down the road, it will not be because of lower electricity prices. There is no kicking this can down the road #communication #utilities #inflation #electricity #costofcapital #interestrates

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REMINDER: Tune into today's Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Transmission Planning Rule Breakdown PowerCast from 1–2 PM ET to hear from a panel of experts as they discuss what the recent FERC ruling is attempting to achieve, its implementation, significance, and potential issues. Register now: https://bit.ly/3wC4WEH

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Sometimes #energytransition progress is talked about with so little fanfare you can almost miss it...unless you read things like the recently published SPP 2023 State of the Market Report. Congratulations to Southwest Power Pool for continuing to reliably manage an increasingly intermittent generation mix, including the continued expansion of #demandresponse resources. "For the second straight year, wind generation produced the highest percentage of total generation, at 37 percent in 2023." "Of the 1,806 MW net increase in nameplate generation capacity from 2022, 1,693 MW were from wind resources, 431 MW were from dispatchable demand response, and 239 were from solar resources." https://lnkd.in/ghVSqNxF #DR #DERs #VPPs

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Hi. I've been on a bit of a LinkedIn hiatus lately, but I am surfacing to boast a little and share some gratitude. We are very proud to be joining forces with the high-quality bid-to-bill software team at Power Settlements! Thank you to my new friend David Dan for trusting us as your new partners. Also, hello to all our new bid-to-bill PowerSettlements customers! We have been supporting RTO transactions for our more financially oriented customers for many years through our Virtual Submission and FTR Position Management products. With PowerSettlement's help, we will be able to support the execution, management, and accounting for our customers who own and operate assets, serve load, or 'consume' load - what we sometimes call our "physical customers". These days there are so many types of these beyond traditional "utilities". We've completed a handful of acquisitions lately. All are strategic and help us serve our customers far beyond our data and analytics beginnings. Nodal markets are complex to analyze, but they also require precise execution. At Yes Energy, we all have t-shirts that say "I Love Power Markets". We do, and we work every day to help them work well and evolve. The PowerSettlements team has been doing the same work from a different end of the problem, and together, we can integrate a whole bunch of workflows for our customers! As with any integration of a new company and its products, some joint enhancements will take a little time, but others will be implemented pretty quickly. Stay tuned to learn more about what we do together, or reach out to learn more right away: sales@yesenergy.com.

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